Saturday, June 14, 2008

SANTIAGO'S CATHEDRAL

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA - MARCH 2007

Santiago's cathedral, the end destination of the Camiño de Santiago, is the alleged burial-place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. In 1075, the construction of the current granite cathedral began, according to the same plan as the church of Saint Sernin in Toulouse, probably the greatest Romanesque edifice in France. The Cathedral was built on the site of an earlier ninth century church destroyed by Almansor's army in 997, the last stone was laid in 1122 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1128 in the presence of King Alfonso IX of Leon. After the completion of the main structure new elements were added in later centuries, culminating in the Baroque transformation of the exterior in the 16th through the 18th centuries. The interior of the Cathedral, however, remained in the Early Romanesque style.

"OBRADOIRO FAÇADE - The western or Obradoiro front, facing the Plaza del Obradoiro and built in the Late Baroque style (the Churrigueresque style) between 1738 and 1747 by Fernando Casas y Novoa, is one of the most impressive church façades I've ever seen. It has two 76 m high towers. The left tower (Torre de la Carraca - Carraca Tower) shows a statue of Zebedee, father of St. James. At some time it held an enormous percussion instrument called a «matraca», which only sounded during Easter, when the bells fell silent. The right tower (Torre de las Campanas) shows the statue of Maria Salome, mother of the apostle. A statue of St. James the Great may be seen in the centre, with his two disciples Athanasius and Theodomir, dressed as pilgrims, shown below. They are flanking a representation of the tomb of St. James. Under the main staircase, the oldest surviving part of the Cathedral, the vaulted Romanesque chamber known as the Old Cathedral, can be found. It's a crypt built in the early 12th century"

"SOUTHERN FAÇADE - The Romanesque façade of the Puerta de las Platerías (Silversmiths Door) on the South façade, the oldest surviving doorway of the Cathedral and one of the best preserved portals, is situated at the Plaza das Praterias where, in the past, silver jewels were sold. It's a two-arched Romanesque portal showing a series of juxtaposed scenes in bas-relief, sculpted between 1112 and 1117. Above the arches of the doorways, in the centre, is the figure of Christ in the act of blessing, flanked by St James and Moses, and below this are the Creation of Adam, the Expulsion from Paradize and Abraham emerging from the tomb"

"BERENGUELA (OR CLOCK TOWER) is a 72 metre high baroque tower. The main body, with a Romanesque base, was built in the 14th century by the archbishop for whom the tower is named: Berenguel de Landoira; later, the architect Domingo de Andrade finished the upper part (1680). Both the original clock (1522) and the bell, measuring 2.5 metres in diameter and considered one of the best in the world, had to be replaced"

"EASTERN FAÇADE - The Eastern façade of the cathedral faces the Plaza Quintana Mortos (Dead) below, as there was a cemetery there; and Quintana Vivos (Alive) on the upper side, where people lived... It has two main portals : the Royal Door (Puerta Real), an excellent example of Compostela baroque, built in the mid-17th century; and the Holy Door (Puerta Santa), known also as the Door of Pardons (Puerta de los Perdones)"

"PUERTA SANTA (HOLY DOOR) opens only during a Año Xacobeo (Holy Year), the year when July 25th (St. James' Day) is a Sunday. During those years, it is accesssible via a smaller gated door, dedicated to St. Pelayo (discoverer of the tomb of St. James). This privilege of holding a Holy Year (shared with Rome and Jerusalem) dates from the 12th century and was granted by Pope Callixtus II in 1119"

"NORTHERN FAÇADE - It was here, at the Francigena (also called Gate of Paradise, the Romanesque portal built in 1122 by Bernard, treasurer of the church) that ended the Camiño de Santiago coming from France. The current Azabachería Façade at the Praza da Immaculada was built on the orders of Archbishop Raxoi in the mid-18th century to replace the existing Romanesque façade. On top of the façade stands a statue of St. James from the 18th century, with two kings at his feet in a praying position : Alfonso II the Great (866-910) and Ordoño II of León (873-924)"

50 comments:

Trotter
said...

This post is dedicated to the outside tour of the Cathedral, the most important monument in Santiago de Compostela. Pictures of the inside will follow in the next post. Wish you enjoy!Meanwhile, I will try to reduce my posting delay to 15 months instead of 18, while still making some (not much seen, truly) posts on Blogtrotter Revival 70s & 80s and Blogtrotter Revival 90s. That will be a great achievement…

It`s always most amazing to see, how skillful builders they have been.I have read much about Santiago de Compostela and walking all the way there like a pilgrim.Have a nice weekend and thank you for your visit my site.

I still havent got the chance to see the pictures that my hubby took in Spain. After 2 days arrived home he still jet lag. But he did mentioned about this majestic Cathedral and after seeing ur pics, I truly can appreciate how huge it is. Have a good weekend.

WOW Gil!An elegantly preserved medieval cathedral, very impressive indeed. A tour of faith to the baroque Cathedral Santiago de Copostela waiting in my wish-list, a special thank you for this guided visit of the cathedral:)BTW, today I'm celebrating 850th birthday of Munich, a hint: June 14th, 1158.

Hi Trotter.....tks for this one. My "Spain" experience is confined to a few intensive business visits - all tourism forbidden. 666, 997, 1075, Baroque and so on. The mind staggers. The depth of feeling and the importance of it all to the minds of that era!

whw!!!!...such an extensive piece!!!ur writng is quite in detail..the pics are lovely and capture the building in detail..however, i think there are much more interesting looking cathedrals than this one!!!btw...regarding your comment about not psting anything new...i have uploaded a post on my other blog..http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.com/do check it out!!!

Gil, what a nice surprise watching Santiago de Compostela in your blog!Great photos but is there any chance that they wouldn't be? this cathedral is just amazing. I love Santiago, I love Galicia. I'll be in this place next July, again, but I'm not tired at all!Nice to "see" you!

This is a stunning cathedral. I can only imagine what it looks like in person! You will have accomplished an immense amount of work if you are able to get all your blogging done and up to date where you want it! Your blogs reflect the time and effort you put into them.....

Difficult to find something more baroque than the Obradoiro facade! Incredible! You can imagine the sensational feelings (even stronger than ours) that the travellers of more ancient times must have experienced after a long pilgrimage! The building must have been impressive already in roman style and before the later additions, but now it’s really sensational! This is however an issue; should we have preferred today to see the original creations?

Well, forget the pilgrimage just visit the cathedral instead, astounding, in night light as well. Is there more about the nitty gritty of walking the ancient way, (apart from the most exclusive hotel in town LOL)

Neva,Thanks! I might reduce the delay in blogging just because I’m travelling much less now… ;))

Noushy Syah,Beauty of Spain? OK, but you should see Portugal… ;))

Alice,Impressionnant!

Peter,You’re right; it’s an incredible façade!I found a site with the reconstruction of the Romanesque façade, but didn’t take note and lost track…

Jules,I’ve seen some of your landing spots; and I understand how comfortable it is to travel at home… ;))

Helene,Thanks!

Lori,I’m so glad to see you back blogging and commenting…

Julia,Don’t you want to try to walk the Way? It seems the Hostal still gives a hot meal to the first pilgrims that arrive there each day… Must confess I’ve seen none; probably was waking up too late for the pilgrims’ hot meal experience… ;)))

Norman,You have good taste: old churches are usually some of the most impressive monuments in cities with some history!

Ruth,According to Wikipedia, it’s supposed to be Saint James, son of Zebedee (d. AD 44), one of the disciples of Jesus, brother of John the Evangelist. He is called Saint James the Greater to distinguish him from the other apostle named James (James, son of Alphaeus) (also known as James the Lesser). James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus! So it’s probably one of the subjects of your friend’s book…

Dr. John,Thanks! Also for making Blogtrotter the Link of the Day at your blog…

Indrani,It’s a great experience to get there…

Dalicia,It’s a pleasure to land at your blog!

Lakshmi,Wow! It’s perfectly adequate… ;))

Kyh,Thanks for your comment; first time here I assume!It’s a great walk, if you’re planning to do it: 100km minimum to get the pilgrim’s certificate… ;))

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This blog started with the pictures taken in the digital era, which means from November 2000 onwards. For the pre-digital period - photos scanned either from paper or from negatives - I created the Revivals:BLOGTROTTER 70s & 80sandBLOGTROTTER 90s.